Dear Reena: I would never ask anyone I know this embarrassing question and I’m not even using my real name! What is the purpose of the peen on a ball-peen hammer?
Garry
Dear Garry: Great question! The flat side of the hammer is used for striking surfaces while the ball side is used for chipping or indenting surfaces. Originally, the ball-peen was used for peening (setting) the end of rivets.
Dear Reena: Can leftover cereal crumbs be substituted for breadcrumbs?
Shannon
Dear Shannon: Cereal is expensive and you want to get a bang for your buck. Use cereal crumbs as a substitute for breadcrumbs and casserole, salad and yogurt toppings.
Now, if I haven’t convinced you of how cheap I am, save the plastic bag from cereal boxes. Use the bag as a substitute for wax paper, great for freezing homemade bread, pies, dough or seeds. Place cut up cereal bag squares between hamburger patties prior to freezing. Lay an empty cereal bag on the bottom of garbage cans to guard against garbage bins from becoming soiled.
Dear Reena: I bought a bulk supply of yogurt and the expiry date is tomorrow. Do you think that the yogurt will taste the same if I freeze it? Will the yogurt still be good?
Anne
Dear Anne: While the consistency may be slightly different after thawing, it still tastes great. In fact you can thaw and stir it, add your favorite fruit or eat it frozen the way that you would ice cream.
Dear Reena: We recently renovated our kitchen and installed a wall oven and a stovetop. The stovetop is really good but the cleaning of it is awful. I have used the cream and scratchless scrubby that came with it, a blade and a knife that came with another cream — in fact I’ve tried four different creams for stovetops, a vinegar and water mixture, and on and on. It is a lot of work to keep that stovetop clean and shiny but I always have a film (though the vinegar helps with that) and everything shows on it. If you don’t clean spills and splatters immediately, they seem to bake on, and are even more work. I’ve tried cleaning it when hot (which is dangerous) and when cold, no real difference.
I have talked to some of my friends and they are all having the same problem, all different models and makes of stovetops and stoves. Do you have any ideas? In one of your recent articles, there was a woman who was using oven cleaner. That is too toxic for me. Surely there is something available and some way to make this an easier task.
Sandra
Dear Sandra: I too have spoken with many people (including my mother) who agree that smooth top stoves are a lot of work to clean. You are doing everything right and you are using the most popular cleaning methods for smooth top stoves. You also made a very wise comment when you said that immediate cleaning action results in less work later on. The only other solution to try; sprinkle baking soda onto (the room temperature) stove. Next, lay a tea towel soaked in dish soap and water over the mess. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then scrub with an abrasive but scratch-resistant pad. If you use a plain old smooth dish cloth, the food is too difficult to remove. Scrub the food and baking soda off and rinse with water.
Dear Reena,
Can you give me a granola bar recipe that doesn’t have that healthy, sit on the counter and die flavour?
I need something that my kids will actually eat.
Christal
Dear Christal: Into a bowl combine: 1 cup honey, 1 cup butter (or margarine), 21Ú2 cups Rice Krispies, two cups granola, three quarter cup white all-purpose flour, one quarter cup ground flax, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp vanilla, 1Ú2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup chocolate chips. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into bars.
Readers’ Feedback
Dear Reena: I saw your recipe for meatloaf in the newspaper and thought I would tell you my suggestions. I use about 1Ú2 kg lean ground beef in a bowl with crackers, two eggs, salt and pepper, 4-5 tablespoons puréed Willie’s chili sauce and a dash or two of Montreal Steak Spice. Mix and layer in loaf pan with mozzarella cheese slices between layers; on top, I put a thick layer of pureed chili sauce. My family loves this.
Karen
Tips for an Organized Garage
You will save yourself time and unnecessary frustration if you spend a few days getting organized.
• Categorize each area of the garage that you need storage for: hand tools, power tools, automotive, sports, camping, cleaning, gardening, seasonal decorations, dangerous chemicals, shovels, bikes, tires, miscellaneous.
• Plan which section of the garage is best suited for each category.
• Purchase shelves, peg boards, hooks, racks and cabinets based on what you need and where it fits.
• Purchase clear totes so that you are able to see what you have.
• Organize items, making sure that everything is easily accessible to everyone that needs to access the items.
For example, don’t hang extension cords so high that you need a ladder to reach them — unless you have small children who you need to keep out of reach.
• Label all shelves, boxes and totes so that everyone knows where items belong. Doing this helps maintain an organized garage for a long time.
